For various land vehicles, it is important that they can be leveled in parked condition (on a ground surface) and be stabilized in the leveled position. This is the case in particular for camping vehicles, particularly for recreational vehicles. For this purpose, the land vehicles in question are provided with several corner support units, which respectively comprise a support leg that can be lowered onto the ground surface.
Such corner support units are known in various designs. In this connection, a distinction must be made in particular as to whether a support leg with fixed predetermined length (e.g. DE 7806499 U, U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,603 A, EP 163544 A, GB 2109322 A) or else a support leg with variable length is used. In the last case mentioned, the support legs may in particular comprise several elements that can be displaced longitudinally (e.g. hydraulically) in the manner of a telescope relative to one another or else several members joined in the manner of a scissors lift (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,400 A) to one another in articulated manner, wherein the longitudinally displaceable support leg in question may additionally be mounted to swivel (between an operating position and a storage position) around a substantially horizontal axis. Examples of the prior art in this regard can be found in WO 2007/023347 AI, U.S. Pat. No. 4,174,094 A, U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,693 B1, US 2004/0046337 AI, EP 1000828 AI, U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,011 A and U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,309 A, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference as content of the present Application. In the case of corner support units with a support leg having a fixed predetermined length, the support leg is regularly mounted to swivel around a substantially horizontal axis. In order to brace the land vehicle on the ground surface, the support leg in this case is swiveled from its raised storage position into its lowered operating position, until it rests on the ground surface via a foot disposed (in articulated manner if necessary) at its end, and the land vehicle in conjunction with its further corner support units is leveled and stabilized in the leveled position.
In view of the partly conflicting requirements (e.g. high performance capability, large working range, small overall size or small dimensions, robustness, high reliability, low manufacturing costs, possible retrofit capability, etc.), as are imposed in practice on the corner support units themselves under consideration here and on their integration into the vehicle environment, it proves difficult for which the large number of approaches (see above) can be rated as an indicator to conceive of a solution that is satisfactory in every respect.